PurposeThis research develops a supply chain maturity model so that Mexican firms can evaluate their current supply chain operations and develop an improvement roadmap. Design/methodology/approachThe Delphi Method was used with eighty experts in Mexico. The Delphi Method gathers multiple perspectives on supply chain operations and delineates a path to reach a group consensus. The results lead to the specification of a Supply Chain Maturity Model S(CM) 2 . S(CM) 2 is validated through experimentation and a pilot test to verify the ability of the model to help managers assess the supply chain processes of a firm by identifying their maturity level in each model viewpoint. A pilot test with a Mexican firm demonstrates the practical implementation of the model. FindingsThe research results in a meta-model, called the Supply Chain Maturity Model S(CM) 2 , that describes supply chain maturity at five levels across multiple competency areas, and provides guidance to specify an improvement plan. Research limitations/implicationsThe meta-model was developed in Mexico, it may not apply to the operations of supply chains in other countries. Additionally, the large scope of the meta-model calls for further testing and refinement. Practical implicationsThe research provides a means for firms to evaluate their supply chain operations and develop improvement plans. Originality/valueThe paper contributes by integrating the ideas of reference frameworks, capability maturity models, and improvement processes and demonstrates how a holistic meta-model can be developed to evaluate supply chain operations.
Lean Thinking has been one of the preferred approaches to improve healthcare processes in developed countries; however, it has been barely used in Latin America. This study presents a Lean implementation in a Mexican public academic medical center. The goal was to reduce the time required to discharge patients from the Internal Medicine Department. This non-experimental intervention study measured, analyzed, and improved the process flow through a time study, value-added/non-value-added analysis, and the four-step quick changeover approach. Once changes were implemented, inferential statistics were used to compare results. Lean implementation allowed reducing the time to discharge patients from 6 to 3 h by eliminating 57% of non-value-added activities and 70% of errors found in discharge orders. This represents a 2% annual capacity increase and a 6.423 h bed made available without investment. Other findings include barriers regarding untrained staff about process improvement and departmental barriers and a successful quick changeover implementation. This is one of the handful of implementations of Lean Healthcare in Latin America. Furthermore, this is one of the very first studies that showcase the implementation of the quick changeover approach in healthcare. Further research should focus on the long-term impact and how the specific environment encourages/discourages future implementations.
Purpose The increase in the supply chain complexity demands new professionals who are able to deal with the new challenges faced nowadays. The purpose of this work is to propose an international university–industry collaboration model to develop supply chain management competences in students as a tool for the training of future professionals. Design/methodology/approach This study proposes an international collaboration model to develop supply chain competences. The model consists of three main phases from the genesis of the collaboration to the assessment of the competence development. This study validates the model collaborating with one of the largest retailer companies in Mexico. Findings Results identify collaboration good practices and point at possible improvements for the next model iteration. This study identifies four key supply chain competences as part of this model. Three didactic approaches (i.e. guidance methods) and two student’s involvement schemes were tested. The results show that professors acting as an advisor (i.e. acting as a guider without telling student directly what to do or how to do it) plus a voluntary student’s involvement in the project promote better competence development. Originality/value The first contribution of this research is the definition of an international collaboration model that promotes competence-based education. Also, this study documents good practices for this type of partnership. The second one refers to a large-scale model validation (i.e. 14-week experiment in nine different regions of Mexico involving a retail company, 20 professor-researchers and more than 100 students). The third contribution includes the assessment of different levels of competences development using diverse students’ participation schemes and professor’s guidance methods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.